


Genevieve

by voidfoxstarlight



Series: cats in the archives what will they do [1]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Cats, Crack Treated Seriously, Elias Bouchard also has a cat, Elias Bouchard tricks Peter Lukas into getting a cat, M/M, Peter Lukas gets a cat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:15:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23387212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/voidfoxstarlight/pseuds/voidfoxstarlight
Summary: Peter has no interest in getting a cat. Elias insists. Peter gets a cat.
Relationships: Elias Bouchard/Peter Lukas
Series: cats in the archives what will they do [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1682173
Comments: 6
Kudos: 126





	Genevieve

“You should get a cat,” Elias had said.

“Excuse me?”

He’d licked the tip of his finger and turned the page of his newspaper. “A cat, Peter. You should get one.”

Peter had leaned back in his chair and kicked his feet up on the coffee table, ignoring Elias’s pointed frown. “Why on Earth should I get a cat?”

“I believe Delilah would benefit from some company.” The cat in question had rubbed her head affectionately against Elias’s shoulder at the sound of her name.

“And you think _I_ should do something about that?”

Elias had shrugged. “If you got a cat, it might be able to do something about the number of vermin on your ship.”

“My ship doesn’t have vermin.” That might have been a lie. He hadn’t been sure—still wasn’t, honestly.

Peter’s tone had clearly marked it as the end of the conversation, and for once, Elias hadn’t pushed.

The conversation played in Peter’s mind on a loop as he stared at the cardboard box full of squealing kittens. They were so small that they were likelier to feed a rat than to hunt it, but, well, cats grew, didn’t they?

The woman crouched next to the box hadn’t noticed him. That was normal.

“Excuse me.”

She startled badly at the sound of his voice, her expression shifting from alarm to embarrassment at the realization that she’d been completely ignoring someone evidently trying to get her attention.

“Oh, sorry, hello! Were you looking to get a kitten?” She gingerly picked up a little greyish one to show him. “They’re exotic shorthairs.”

Peter knew literally nothing about cat breeds. “Lovely. How much do they cost?”

“Oh, well, we didn’t realize our cat was pregnant—we thought she was just fat, you know—so we weren’t expecting kittens and we kind of just need to get rid of them as fast as we can, so… whatever you feel like, I suppose.”

“Hmm. How does £100 sound?”

Her mouth popped open in shock. “Oh! I—well—yes, please!”

“Lovely,” he said again. He pulled his checkbook from his pocket and scribbled a check. He handed it to her. “You can fill it out yourself.”

She took it with a kind of dazed look on her face. “I—yes, thank you.” She shook her head as if clearing it. “Ah, which one would you like?”

Peter kneeled down and peered into the box. There were six squirming kittens inside, mewing and batting playfully at their littermates. A small white and slate-grey one—the runt of the litter, it looked like—was asleep in the corner.

Peter pointed at it. “That one.”

The woman carefully lifted it up and handed it over to him. “Be careful with her.”

It fit neatly in his palm with room to spare. He raised it up to eye level. It mewed in protest of its sleep being distured and watched him through bleary, half-open eyes.

“Thank you,” he said.

The woman beamed at him. “Thank _you_!”

Disgustingly cheerful. Had it been any other day, Peter would have happily fed her to his patron, but as it was, he was late to his meeting with Elias.

The secretary gave him a curious look when she saw the kitten cupped awkwardly in his hands, but she didn’t say anything about it, just waved her hand towards Elias’s office and said, “Go right on in, Mr. Lukas.”

He wondered when she’d learned his name and if she could be persuaded to forget she’d ever met him at all.

Elias was doing paperwork when Peter went in, hunched over his desk and scribbling with his fountain pen. “You’re late,” he said without looking up.

“It’s your fault,” Peter said, and tipped the kitten onto Elias’s desk.

It’s little paws scrabbled at the desk, smearing ink and sending papers flying. Elias gasped and scooped it up to prevent any more damage to his paperwork. “Peter! What—”

Peter shrugged. “You told me to get a cat.” It was a very rare occasion that he managed to surprise Elias, and he took a moment to relish the look of shock on his face.

Elias quickly schooled his features into control, although his eyebrows remained slightly raised. “And you actually listened to me?”

“There was a woman selling cats on the way here.”

Elias shifted the kitten to a more comfortable position in his hands and rubbed between its ears with his thumb. “What’s her name?”

“Uh… I haven’t thought about it.”

“Peter!” Elias scolded. “You can’t just leave a cat unnamed.” He brought the kitten close to his face to look it in its blue eyes. “What do you think of Genevieve?”

“Sure.”

“She’s so small,” Elias marveled. He snorted.

“What’s so funny?”

“You must have picked the smallest one they had. She’s smaller than your hand.” 

Elias stood up and rounded his desk to reach up and put her on Peter’s shoulder. Peter’s hand went up automatically to steady her. She butted her little head against his hand and kneaded his shoulder.

“I think she might actually be able to sleep up there without falling off,” Elias said.

“Hmph,” Peter said. “She’d better grow, or I doubt she’ll be any use for catching vermin.”

“Mm, yes, vermin.”

Inwardly, Peter scowled. That was the tone Elias used when he thought he knew something Peter didn’t. In fairness, he usually did. He’d never say that out loud, though, Elias would be insufferable if he did.

Elias’s grin widened.

Peter decided to kiss the damn grin off his face. “What’re you smiling about,” he murmured against his lips.

“It’s quite cute, seeing you with a little kitten like that,” Elias murmured back.

Peter drew back a bit. “Oh?”

Elias nodded. He stood on his toes to pull Peter down for another kiss, but Peter leaned away.

“Ah ah ah! This is a business meeting.”

Elias scowled at him and adjusted his tie. “It’s rude to start things and not finish them, Peter.”

Peter shrugged, jostling Genevieve in her perch on his shoulder. “No one ever said I was polite.”

“Oh, go away, I can’t stand to look at you.”

Peter chuckled and stepped backwards into the fog. He took the cat with him.

**Author's Note:**

> Cats in the archives what will they do! If you want to talk about this au with me or Barry you can find us on tumblr @voidfoxstarlight and @youarentreadingthis respectively.


End file.
